Backlight module and luminous keyboard using the same

ABSTRACT

A backlight module including a circuit layer, a light guide plate, a light-emitting component, an electronic component, a reflective layer, and an identifier is provided. The light guide plate includes an escape opening and a light-source opening. The light-emitting component is connected to the circuit layer. The electronic component is connected to the circuit layer. The reflective layer is disposed between the light guide plate and the circuit layer. The identifier is disposed on the reflective layer. A keyboard using this backlight module is also provided.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation application of and claims thepriority benefit of U.S. application Ser. No. 17/974,551, filed on Oct.27, 2022. The prior U.S. application Ser. No. 17/974,551 is acontinuation application of and claims the priority benefit of U.S.application Ser. No. 16/878,614, filed on May 20, 2020, which claims thepriority benefits of U.S. provisional application Ser. No. 62/849,961,filed on May 20, 2019, and China application serial no. 202010355363.2,filed on Apr. 29, 2020. The entirety of each of the above-mentionedpatent applications is hereby incorporated by reference herein and madea part of this specification.

BACKGROUND Technical Field

The present disclosure generally relates to a backlight module and aluminous keyboard. More particularly, the present disclosure relates toa backlight module and a luminous keyboard with embedded electroniccomponents.

Description of Related Art

With the development of today's lighting technology, various electronicproducts with luminous functions have emerged in order to provide userswith more favorable user experience. For example, a keyboard used as amain input device of a desktop computer or a laptop computer iscurrently a very popular luminous electronic product. Conventionalkeyboards did not have luminous functions. Later, in order to achievelighting prompter and decorative effects, manufacturers adopt lightingstructures as light sources to light up keys individually whenactivated.

On the other hand, according to market demand, electronic products havegradually developed towards a thinner and lighter trend in recent years.The keyboard products have developed toward the same trend, especiallythe keyboard used in a notebook (laptop) computer. The thickness of thekeyboard has significant impact on the overall thickness of the notebookcomputer. Therefore, how to effectively reduce the thickness of thekeyboard is an issue that related manufacturers are committed to resolveand improve. A part from reducing the thickness of the keyboard, how toreduce production cost is also an important development issue.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure is directed to a backlight module and a luminouskeyboard, wherein an electronic component is arranged in the light guideplate to reduce the thickness of the backlight module and the luminouskeyboard using the same.

The present disclosure provides a backlight module including a lightguide plate, a circuit board, an electronic component, a reflectivesheet, a light-shielding sheet, and a light-emitting component. Thelight guide plate includes an escape opening. The circuit board isdisposed under the light guide plate. The electronic component isdisposed on the circuit board, and at least a part of the electroniccomponent is located in the escape opening. The reflective sheet isdisposed on a rear surface of the light guide plate and between thelight guide plate and the circuit board, and the reflective sheetextends into the escape opening. The light-shielding sheet is disposedon the light-emitting surface of the light guide plate opposite to therear surface. The light-emitting component is disposed at the lightguide plate.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the light-emittingcomponent is disposed on the circuit board and adjacent to a sidesurface of the light guide plate, the electronic component is differentfrom the light-emitting component, and a height of the electroniccomponent is substantially greater than a height of the light-emittingcomponent.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the light-emittingcomponent is disposed on the reflective sheet or the light-shieldingsheet and adjacent to a side surface of the light guide plate.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the reflectivesheet is connected to the light-shielding sheet at a portioncorresponding to an upper surface of the electronic component.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the circuit boardincludes a bonding portion disposed on the rear surface of the lightguide plate and a component portion corresponding to the escape opening,and the component portion coupled to the electronic component protrudesfrom the bonding portion in a direction away from the light guide plate.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the circuit boardincludes a bonding portion disposed on the rear surface of the lightguide plate and a component portion corresponding to the escape opening,the component portion coupled to the electronic component is coplanarwith the bonding portion, and the electronic component is disposed onthe component portion.

The present disclosure provides a luminous keyboard including a lightguide plate, a circuit board, an electronic component, a reflectivesheet, a light-emitting component, a base plate, and a key switchstructure. The light guide plate includes an escape opening. The circuitboard is disposed under the light guide plate. The electronic componentis disposed on the circuit board, and at least a part of the electroniccomponent is located in the escape opening. The reflective sheet isdisposed on a rear surface of the light guide plate and in the escapeopening. The light-emitting component is disposed at the light guideplate. The base plate is disposed on the light guide plate. The keyswitch structure is disposed on the base plate.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the reflectivesheet extends upward into the escape opening and comprises a coverportion covering an upper surface of the electronic component.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the reflectivesheet extends upward into the escape opening and comprises a reflectivesheet opening exposing the electronic component.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the luminouskeyboard further includes a light-shielding sheet disposed on alight-emitting surface of the light guide plate opposite to the rearsurface, wherein the light-shielding sheet covers the electroniccomponent.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the luminouskeyboard further includes a light-shielding sheet disposed on alight-emitting surface of the light guide plate opposite to the rearsurface, wherein the light-shielding sheet comprises a light-shieldingsheet opening exposing the electronic component.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the base platecomprises a base plate opening or a protruding portion corresponding tothe electronic component, and the protruding portion protruding awayfrom the circuit board.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the key switchstructure comprises a functional layer disposed on the base plate and akeycap disposed on the functional layer, and the functional layercomprises a functional layer opening corresponding to base plate openingor a protruding portion.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, at least a part ofthe electronic component is located in the base plate opening or theprotruding portion.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the key switchstructure comprises a plurality of restoring components disposed on thebase plate and a plurality of keycaps respectively disposed on theplurality of restoring components, and the electronic component islocated between adjacent two of the plurality of keycaps, and a heightof the electronic component is substantially greater than a height ofthe light-emitting component.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, an outermostsurface of the luminous keyboard has an identifier.

The present disclosure provides a luminous keyboard including a keyswitch structure, a light guide plate, a reflective sheet, a circuitboard, an electronic component, and a light-emitting component. Thelight guide plate is disposed under the key switch structure andincluding an escape opening. The reflective sheet is disposed under thelight guide plate. The circuit board is disposed under the reflectivesheet. The electronic component is coupled to the circuit board, and atleast a part of the electronic component being located in the escapeopening. The light-emitting component is coupled to the circuit boardand disposed on a surface of the light guide plate, wherein thelight-emitting component and the electronic component are of differentheights.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the luminouskeyboard further includes a light-shielding sheet and an adhesive layer.The light-shielding sheet is disposed between the key switch structureand the light guide plate, wherein the light-shielding sheet covers theelectronic component. The adhesive layer is disposed between thereflective sheet and the circuit board, wherein a thickness of theadhesive layer is less than a thickness of the light guide plate, andthe thickness of the light guide plate is less than a height of thelight-emitting component.

Based on the above, the light guide plate of the backlight module ofthis embodiment has an escape opening, and the reflective sheet extendsupward from the rear surface of the light guide plate into the escapeopening. Under such a configuration, at least a part of the electroniccomponents can be embedded in the escape opening of the light guideplate, so that the thickness of the luminous keyboard using thebacklight module can be effectively reduced. In addition, the reflectivesheet of this embodiment extends upward from the rear surface of thelight guide plate to cover the inner wall of the escape opening, thuseffectively preventing the light emitted by the light-emitting componentfrom leaking out of the escape opening.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings are included to provide a furtherunderstanding of the disclosure, and are incorporated in and constitutea part of this specification. The drawings illustrate embodiments of thedisclosure and, together with the description, serve to explain theprinciples of the disclosure.

FIG. 1 is a schematic top view of a luminous keyboard according to anembodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a schematic bottom view of a luminous keyboard according to anembodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a schematic partial cross-sectional view of a luminouskeyboard according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a schematic partial cross-sectional view of a luminouskeyboard according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a schematic partial cross-sectional view of a luminouskeyboard according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 6 is a schematic partial cross-sectional view of a luminouskeyboard according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 7 is a schematic partial cross-sectional view of a luminouskeyboard according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

Reference will now be made in detail to the present preferredembodiments of the disclosure, examples of which are illustrated in theaccompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers areused in the drawings and the description to refer to the same or likeparts.

The foregoing and other technical contents, features and effects of thepresent disclosure will be clearly presented in the following detaileddescription of the embodiments with reference to the drawings.Directional terms mentioned in the following embodiments, for example:“upper,” “lower,” “front,” “rear,” “left,” “right,” etc., are onlydirections referring to additional drawings. Therefore, the directionalterms used are for illustration, not for limiting the presentdisclosure. Moreover, in the following embodiments, the same or similarcomponents will be given the same or similar reference numbers.

FIG. 1 is a schematic top view of a luminous keyboard according to anembodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 2 is a schematic bottom viewof a luminous keyboard according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure. FIG. 3 is a schematic partial cross-sectional view of aluminous keyboard according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.Referring to FIG. 1 to FIG. 3 , in some embodiments, the luminouskeyboard 100 includes a backlight module 105, a base plate 120, and akey switch structure 110. The backlight module 105 may include a lightguide plate 140, a circuit board 160, an electronic component 170, alight-shielding sheet 130, a reflective sheet 150, and a light-emittingcomponent 190. The circuit board 160 could be a flexible printed circuit(FPC), a printed circuit board (PCB), or any substrate with conductivepatterns formed thereon. In some embodiments, the key switch structure110 may include a functional layer 114 disposed on the base plate 120and at least one keycap 112 disposed on the functional layer 114.

In this embodiment, the luminous keyboard 100 may be, for example, amembrane keyboard applicable for a notebook computer. Accordingly, thefunctional layer 114 may be a membrane circuit layer, and the key switchstructure 110 may include a plurality of key caps 112. The key caps 112may be disposed on the functional layer 114 for users to press andthereby execute the corresponding functions (e.g., Space, Caps Lock,Shift, Enter, Delete) of the pressed keycap 112 accordingly. In someembodiments, the luminous keyboard 100 may be coupled to a controller,such as a computer, a computer terminal, a console (e.g., video gameconsole), or the like. The controller can execute a program or connectto a service provider, such as a server, network, or internet, toexecute or provide the program to a device. In addition, the outermostsurface of the luminous keyboard 100 may further have an identifier,such as barcodes, a two-dimensional codes (QR codes), three-dimensionalcodes, or other recognizable patterns, symbols, characters, andnumerical codes. Specifically, the identifier can be placed on anysurface of the keyboard, such as the base plate, a frame, the backlightmodule, a circuit board, and the identifier can be directly formed onthe keyboard by the method chose from printing, spraying, laserengraving, polishing, stamping, attaching. The identifier may includeinformation such as the production history of the keyboard product; thatis, the related production and manufacturing data of the keyboard body,or its base plate, frame, backlight module, circuit board, or the like,can be recorded in the identifier. For example, the relatedmanufacturing data may include manufacturing date, manufacturinglocation, manufacturing batch number, product lot number, product type,material information, test record, etc. The above-mentionedmanufacturing data can be used for identification, tracking or follow-upstatistical analysis of the keyboard or its base plate, frame, backlightmodule, circuit board. If a problem or defect occurs in the keyboard orits base plate, frame, backlight module, circuit board that may need tobe reworked or repaired, the defect or problem can be clarified and thebatch related to non-conforming parts can be tracked by themanufacturing data recorded in the identifier. As shown in FIG. 2 , inthis embodiment, the identifier 101 of the luminous keyboard 100 may bedisposed on the outermost surface of the backlight module 105, such asthe surface of the reflective sheet 150 away from the light guide plate140. However, in other embodiments, the identifier 101 may also bedisposed on the bottom surface of the base plate 120, such as thesurface of the base plate 120 adjacent to the backlight module 105, aslong as the identifier 101 is exposed for identification.

In some embodiments, the key switch structure 110 may further include alifting mechanism 116 and a restoring component 118 between the baseplate 120 and the keycap 112. One end of the lifting mechanism 116 ismovably connected to the key cap 112, and the other end thereof ismovably connected to the base plate 120. The keycap 112 can be disposedon the lifting mechanism 116. The lifting mechanism 116 is configured tosupport the keycap 112 for vertical movement relative to the membraneswitch of the functional layer 114. In other words, the keycap 112 canmove relative to the base plate 120 via the lifting mechanism 116between the pressed position and the unpressed position. In someembodiments, the membrane switch may include an upper membrane circuitand a lower membrane circuit. The restoring component 118 may bedisposed on the upper membrane circuit. With such configuration, anexternal force can be applied to the keycap 112 to move the keycap 112toward the upper membrane circuit. The restoring component 118 deformsaccording to the movement of the key cap 112, so as to make the uppermembrane circuit deformed toward the lower membrane circuit, therebyturning on the membrane switch. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 3 , thelifting mechanism 116 is a scissors-type lifting mechanism, and therestoring component 118 may be an elastic dome, e.g., rubber dome ormetal dome. In other embodiments, the lifting mechanism 116 may also bea wing-type lifting mechanism, and the restoring component 118 may be aspring or elastic sheet. In other embodiments, the restoring component118 may also be a magnetic component, and therefore the key switchstructure 100 of the present embodiment may be a magnetic key.

The base plate 120 is disposed under the key switch structure 110 toprovide mechanical support to the key switch structure 110. Herein, thebase plate 120 may be a metal plate (such as a stainless steel plate, agalvanized steel plate, an aluminum plate, or an aluminum-magnesiumalloy plate) or a non-metallic plate (such as a plastic plate, a carbonfiber plate, or a glass fiber plate). In an embodiment, the base plate120 may also be a composite plate formed by joining different materialstogether, such as a metal and non-metal composite plate. The metal couldbe pre-treated with a surface treatment to improve activity and bindingforce, and then integrally bonded with the non-metallic material throughinjection molding. In addition, the thickness of the base plate 120 is,for example, between 0.1 mm and 0.6 mm according to the characteristicsof the selected material. For example, a metal plate is relativelyrigid, and its thickness can be about 0.1 mm to 0.3 mm as the base plate120, but a non-metallic plate is lighter in weight or softer inmaterial, and its thickness can be substantially greater than thethickness of the metal plate as the base plate 120.

In some embodiments, the light-emitting component 190 may be alight-emitting diode (LED) or an organic light-emitting diode (OLED),which is configured to emit light. In some embodiments, thelight-emitting component 190 is disposed on the light guide plate 140 sothat light enters the light guide plate 140. In an implementedembodiment, the light-emitting component 190 may be disposed on thecircuit board 160 and may be disposed adjacent to the side surface 144of the light guide plate 140. In this configuration, light emitted bythe light-emitting component 190 may enter the light guide plate 140from the side surface 144. In another embodiment, the light guide plate140 may further have a light-source opening extending to the interior ofthe light guide plate 140. Each light-source opening may have its ownlight incident surface. Each light-emitting component 190 may bedisposed in the corresponding light-source opening. In thisconfiguration, the light emitted by the light-emitting component 190 canenter the light guide plate 140 from the light incident surface of thecorresponding light-source opening. The side surface 144 can be regardedas an inner side surface (inner wall) of the light-source opening, andthe light emitted by the light-emitting component 190 may enter thelight guide plate 140 from the inner side surface 144 of thelight-source opening. In other embodiments, the light-emitting component190 may be disposed on the light-shielding sheet 130 or on thefunctional layer 114 of the key switch structure 110. Thus, thelight-emitting component 190 extends downward to be immediately adjacentto the side surface 144 of the light guide plate 140 or arranged in thecorresponding light-source opening of the light guide plate 140. Inother embodiments, the light-emitting component 190 may be disposed onthe reflective sheet 150, so that the light-emitting component 190 mayextend upward to be immediately adjacent to the side surface 144 of thelight guide plate 140 or arranged in the corresponding light-sourceopening of the light guide plate 140. The embodiment does not limit theconfiguration of the light-emitting component 190. In some embodiments,a plurality of light-emitting components 190 may be integrated on thelight-emitting circuit board to form an integral light source unit,thereby improving assembling efficiency. In FIG. 4 to FIG. 7 , thelight-emitting component is not illustrated, but a light-emittingcomponent could be disposed on the side surface 144 of the light guideplate 140 or the inner side surface 144 of the light-source opening inthe light guide plate 140 as the light-emitting component 190 in FIG. 3. The base plate 120 may include a plurality of openings, which may bepositioned under the key cap 112 to facilitate light emission.

In some embodiments, the light guide plate 140 may be made of acrylic,silicone, thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU), or other suitable lightguide polymer materials. The thickness of the light guide plate 140 maybe determined according to requirements. The light guide plate 140 mayinclude an escape opening 142. The circuit board 160 is disposed underthe light guide plate 140. The electronic component 170 is disposed onthe circuit board 160, and at least part of the electronic component 170is located in the escape opening 142. In this configuration, byembedding at least a part of the electronic component 170 in the escapeopening 142 of the light guide plate 140, the thickness of the luminouskeyboard 100 can be effectively reduced. The electronic component 170different from the light-emitting component 190 could be an activecomponent or a passive component, such as a MOS device, a driver IC, ora connector, etc., and the electronic component 170 may be electricallyconnected to the circuit board 160 through, for example, a solder 180.As shown in FIG. 3 , the height h1 of the electronic component 170 maybe greater than the height h2 of the light-emitting component 190. Forexample, when the light-emitting component 190 is located on the sidesurface 144 of the light guide plate 140 or in the correspondinglight-source opening, the height h2 of the light-emitting component 190is less than or equal to the thickness h3 of the light guide plate 140(that is, the top surface of the light-emitting component 190 does notprotrude from the surface of the light guide plate 140), and the heighth1 of the electronic component 170 embedded in the escape opening 142may be greater than or equal to the thickness h3 of the light guideplate 140 (i.e., the top surface of the electronic component 170 mayprotrude from the surface of the light guide plate 140).

The reflective sheet 150 may be disposed on the rear surface of thelight guide plate 140 and located between the light guide plate 140 andthe circuit board 160, and the reflective sheet 150 extends into theescape opening 142. In some embodiments, the reflective sheet 150disposed on the rear surface of the light guide plate 140 may beconfigured to reflect the light leaking from the bottom of the lightguide plate 140, so as to increase the exaction efficiency of the lightfrom the backlight module. The base plate 120 may be disposed on thelight guide plate 140, and the key switch structure 110 is disposed onthe base plate 120. In some embodiments, the position of the escapeopening 142 may partially overlap with the position of the key cap 112from a top view. In other embodiments, the position of the escapeopening 142 may not overlap with the position of the key cap 112. In animplemented embodiment (such as the embodiment shown in FIG. 4 ), theposition of the escape opening 142 (that is, the position where theelectronic component 170 is disposed) can be located between twoadjacent keycaps 112 to avoid shadowing or interfering the lightprovided to the keycap 112. The reflective sheet 150 may be a reflectivefilm formed by a reflective material (such as a metal foil), or anon-reflective film coated with a reflective material, or a plastic filmdoped with reflective particles (such as a PET film doped withreflective particles). The shape and size of the reflective sheet 150may correspond to the light guide plate 140.

In this embodiment, the reflective sheet 150 may extend upward from therear surface of the light guide plate 140 into the escape opening 142and include a cover portion 154 for covering the upper surface of theelectronic component 170. Accordingly, the light emitted by thelight-emitting component 190 does not escape from the escape opening142. In some embodiments, the backlight module 105 further includes alight-shielding sheet 130, which is disposed on the light-emittingsurface of the light guide plate 140 opposite to the rear surface. Thelight-shielding sheet 130 and the reflective sheet 150 are respectivelydisposed on two opposite sides of the light guide plate 140. Thelight-shielding sheet 130 may be located between the light guide plate140 and the base plate 120. In the present embodiment, thelight-shielding sheet 130 covers the cover portion 154 of the reflectivesheet 150. In some embodiments, the reflective sheet 150 may beconnected to the light-shielding sheet 130 at a portion corresponding toan upper surface of the electronic component 190 (for example, the coverportion 154). In some embodiments, the light-shielding sheet 130 has alight-shielding pattern to selectively block the light or allow thelight to pass through.

In some embodiments, the light-shielding sheet 130 is a lighttransmissive optical film, such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET), andhas a pattern design on the film to shield the corresponding portion ofthe luminous keyboard 100 that does not need to be illuminated. In oneembodiment, the shape and size of the light-shielding sheet 130 maycorrespond to the light guide plate 120. The reflective sheet 150 isdisposed on the other side of the light guide plate 140 opposite to thelight-shielding sheet 130, and is configured to reflect light leakingfrom the rear side of the light guide plate 140 back to the light guideplate 140.

The circuit board 160 may include the bonding portion 164 disposed onthe rear surface of the light guide plate 142 and the component portion162 corresponding to the escape opening 142, and the electroniccomponent 170 is disposed on the component portion 162. In addition, thecomponent portion 162 may slightly protrude from the bonding portion 164in a direction away from the light guide plate 140. In some embodiments,the backlight module 105 may further include an adhesive layer 155disposed between the reflective sheet 150 and the circuit board 160. Theadhesive layer 155 is opaque, for example. Specifically, the adhesivelayer 155 may be disposed on a portion where the reflective sheet 150and the circuit board 160 are bonded to each other. In such aconfiguration, the reflective sheet 150 and the circuit board 160 may bebonded through the adhesive layer 155, so that the electronic component170 is disposed in the escape opening 142. In addition, the stepdifference between the bonding portion 164 and the component portion 162can be reduced by applying the adhesive layer 155 at the bonding portion164. In other embodiments, the component portion 162 of the circuitboard 160 may be coplanar with the bonding portion 164. Namely, thebottom surface of the component portion 162 is, for example, generallyaligned with the bottom surface of the bonding portion 164. In otherwords, the electronic component 170 can be completely embedded in thelight guide plate 140 so that the circuit board 160 underneath is flat.Under such a configuration, by embedding at least a part of theelectronic component 170 in the escape opening 142 of the light guideplate 140, the thickness of the luminous keyboard 100 can be effectivelyreduced. In addition, the reflective sheet 150 of this embodimentextends upward from the rear surface of the light guide plate 140 intothe escape opening 142 and covers the upper surface of the electroniccomponent 170, thus ensuring that the light emitted by thelight-emitting component 190 would not leak from the escape opening 142.

It is noted that the adhesive layer 155 could be applied to compensatethe difference in height between the light guide plate 140 and thelight-emitting component 190 when the thickness h3 of the light guideplate 140 is less than the height h2 of the light-emitting component190. In this embodiment, the light-emitting component 190 and theelectronic component 170 of different heights are disposed on andcoupled to the circuit board 160 respectively. As the thickness h3 ofthe light guide plate 140 is less than the height h2 of thelight-emitting component 190, the light-emitting component 190 adjacentto the side surface 144 of the light guide plate 140 may protrude fromthe light guide plate 140. The adhesive layer 155 between the reflectivesheet 150 and the circuit board 160 is not arranged at a positioncorresponding to the light-emitting component 190, thereby enabling thebottom surface of the circuit board 160 to be flat. The thickness of theadhesive layer 155 is, for example, less than the thickness h3 of thelight guide plate 140, but could be approximated to the number bysubtracting the thickness h3 of the light guide plate 140 and thethickness of the reflective sheet 150 from the height h2 of thelight-emitting component 190.

FIG. 4 is a schematic partial cross-sectional view of a luminouskeyboard according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. It isnoted that the luminous keyboard 100 a of the present embodimentcontains many features same as or similar to the luminous keyboard 100disclosed earlier with FIG. 3 . For purpose of clarity and simplicity,detail description of same or similar features may be omitted, and thesame or similar reference numbers denote the same or like components.The main differences between the luminous keyboard 100 a of the presentembodiment and the luminous keyboard 100 of FIG. 3 are described asfollows.

Referring to FIG. 4 , in some embodiments, the reflective sheet 150′ mayextend upward from the rear surface of the light guide plate 140 intothe escape opening 142. In the present embodiment, the reflective sheet150′ includes the reflective sheet opening 152, which is configured toexpose the upper surface of the electronic component 170. Thelight-shielding sheet 130 is configured to cover the electroniccomponent 170 exposed by the reflective sheet 150′. Accordingly, atleast a part of the electronic component 170 can be located in theescape opening 142 and the reflective sheet opening 152. That is to say,the position of the electronic component 170 can be further shifted(upward) toward the key switch structure 110. With such configuration,the thickness of the luminous keyboard 100 can be further reduced.Moreover, since the reflective sheet 150′ still extends upward to coverthe inner wall of the escape opening 142 and is bonded with thelight-shielding sheet 130 above, in some embodiments, the reflectivesheet 150′ may further partially extend to the upper side of the escapeopening 142 along the light-shielding sheet 130. Thereby, the reflectivesheet 150′ of this embodiment may still prevent the light emitted by thelight-emitting component 190 from leaking out of the escape opening 142.

FIG. 5 is a schematic partial cross-sectional view of a luminouskeyboard according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. It isnoted that the luminous keyboard 100 b of the present embodimentcontains many features same as or similar to the luminous keyboard 100disclosed earlier with FIG. 3 . For purpose of clarity and simplicity,detail description of same or similar features may be omitted, and thesame or similar reference numbers denote the same or like components.The main differences between the luminous keyboard 100 b of the presentembodiment and the luminous keyboard 100 of FIG. 3 are described asfollows.

Referring to FIG. 5 , in some embodiments, the reflective sheet 150 mayextend upward from the rear surface of the light guide plate 140 intothe escape opening 142 and include a cover portion 154 for covering theupper surface of the electronic component 170. In this way, it can beensured that the light emitted by the light-emitting component 190 doesnot escape from the escape opening 142. In this embodiment, thelight-shielding sheet 130′ is disposed on the light-emitting surface ofthe light guide plate 140 opposite to the rear surface, and thelight-shielding sheet 130′ includes a light-shielding sheet opening 132configured to expose the cover portion 154 of the reflective sheet 150.With such configuration, the reflective sheet 150 covers the uppersurface of the electronic component 170 to ensure that the light emittedby the light-emitting component 190 does not leak from the escapeopening 142. Moreover, the light-shielding sheet 130′ includes alight-shielding sheet opening 132 corresponding to the escape opening142, so the thickness of the sheets above the electronic component 170can still be reduced, so that the configuring position of the electroniccomponent 170 may still be shifted (upward) toward the key switchstructure 110, so that the thickness of the luminous keyboard 100 can befurther reduced.

FIG. 6 is a schematic partial cross-sectional view of a luminouskeyboard according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. It isnoted that the luminous keyboard 100 c of the present embodimentcontains many features same as or similar to the luminous keyboard 100disclosed earlier with FIG. 3 . For purpose of clarity and simplicity,detail description of same or similar features may be omitted, and thesame or similar reference numbers denote the same or like components.The main differences between the luminous keyboard 100 c of the presentembodiment and the luminous keyboard 100 of FIG. 3 are described asfollows.

Referring to FIG. 6 , in some embodiments, the reflective sheet 150 mayextend upward from the rear surface of the light guide plate 140 intothe escape opening 142. Moreover, in the present embodiment, thereflective sheet 150′ includes a reflective sheet opening 152, which isconfigured to expose the upper surface of the electronic component 170.Similarly, the light-shielding sheet 130′ includes a light-shieldingsheet opening 132, which corresponds to the escape opening 142 and thereflective sheet opening 152, and is configured to expose the uppersurface of the electronic component 170. In the present embodiment, thebase plate 120′ may include a base plate opening 122 exposing theelectronic component 170. Moreover, the functional layer 114′ may alsocorrespondingly include a functional layer opening 1141 that exposes theelectronic component 170. In other words, the escape opening 142, thereflective sheet opening 152, the light-shielding opening 132, the baseplate opening 122, and the functional layer opening 1141 may jointlyexpose the electronic component 170 disposed on the circuit board 160′.In some embodiments, the escape opening 142, the reflective sheetopening 152, the light-shielding opening 132, the base plate opening122, and the functional layer opening 1141 may correspond (align) withone another to jointly expose the electronic component 170 underneath.In some embodiments, the size (diameter) of the escape opening 142 maybe slightly larger than the sizes (diameters) of the reflective sheetopening 152, the light-shielding opening 132, the base plate opening122, and the functional layer opening 1141, such that the reflectivesheet 150′ may extend upward to cover the inner wall of the escapeopening 142 and is bonded to the light-shielding sheet 130 above. Thereflective sheet 150′ may further partially extend to the upper side ofthe escape opening 142 along the light-shielding sheet 130. Therefore,the reflective sheet 150′ of this embodiment can still prevent the lightemitted by the light-emitting component 190 from leaking out of theescape opening 142. In some embodiments, the locations of the escapeopening 142, the reflective sheet opening 152, the light-shielding sheetopening 132, the base plate opening 122, and the functional layeropening 1141 may be staggered from the locations of the key cap 112, thelifting mechanism 116, and the restoring component 118. In the presentembodiment, the central axis of the escape opening 142 does not overlapwith the central axis of the key cap 112 from a top view. In this way,at least a part of the electronic component 170 can be accommodated in acomponent disposing space jointly formed by the escape opening 142, thereflective sheet opening 152, the light-shielding sheet opening 132, thebase plate opening 122, and the functional layer opening 1141. That isto say, the position of the electronic component 170 can be furthershifted (upward) toward the key switch structure 110. In suchconfiguration, the thickness of the luminous keyboard 100 can be furtherreduced. In the present embodiment, the component portion 162 of thecircuit board 160 may be coplanar with the bonding portion 164. In otherwords, the electronic component 170 can be completely embedded in thecomponent disposing space jointly formed by the escape opening 142, thereflective sheet opening 152, the light-shielding opening 132, the baseplate opening 122, and the functional layer opening 1141, so that thecircuit board 160 underneath is flat. In other embodiments, thecomponent portion 162 of the circuit board 160 may slightly protrudefrom the bonding portion 164 in a direction away from the light guideplate 140.

FIG. 7 is a schematic partial cross-sectional view of a luminouskeyboard according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. It isnoted that the luminous keyboard 100 d of the present embodimentcontains many features same as or similar to the luminous keyboard 100 cdisclosed earlier with FIG. 6 . For purpose of clarity and simplicity,detail description of same or similar features may be omitted, and thesame or similar reference numbers denote the same or like components.The main differences between the luminous keyboard 100 d of the presentembodiment and the luminous keyboard 100 c of FIG. 6 are described asfollows.

Referring to FIG. 7 , in some embodiments, the reflective sheet 150 mayextend upward from the rear surface of the light guide plate 140 intothe escape opening 142. Moreover, in the present embodiment, thereflective sheet 150′ includes the reflective sheet opening 152, whichis configured to expose the upper surface of the electronic component170. Similarly, the light-shielding sheet 130′ includes alight-shielding sheet opening 132, which corresponds to the escapeopening 142 and the reflective sheet opening 152, and is configured toexpose the upper surface of the electronic component 170. In thisembodiment, the functional layer 114′ may include a functional layeropening 1141 corresponding to the escape opening 142 (or correspondingto the electronic component 170). The base plate 120″ includes aprotruding portion 124 protruding from the functional layer opening 1141toward the functional layer. In other words, the protruding portion 124may protrude away from the circuit board 160. In some embodiments, thebase plate 120″ may be formed with the protruding portion 124 bystamping or other suitable methods. In this configuration, at least apart of the electronic component 170 is located in the componentdisposing space jointly formed by the escape opening 142, the reflectivesheet opening 152, and the protruding portion 124. That is to say, thelocation of the electronic component 170 can be further shifted (upward)toward the key switch structure 110. With such configuration, thethickness of the luminous keyboard 100 can be further reduced. In thisembodiment, the component portion 162 of the circuit board 160 may becoplanar with the bonding portion 164. In other words, the electroniccomponent 170 can be completely embedded in the component disposingspace jointly formed by the escape opening 142, the reflective sheetopening 152, and the protruding portion 124, so that the circuit board160 underneath is flat. In other embodiments, the component portion 162of the circuit board 160 may slightly protrude from the bonding portion164 in a direction away from the light guide plate 140.

In some embodiments, the size (diameter) of the escape opening 142 maybe slightly larger than the sizes (diameters) of the reflective sheetopening 152 and the light-shielding sheet opening 132, so that thereflective sheet 150′ may extend upward to cover the inner wall of theescape opening 142, and is bonded to the light-shielding sheet 130above. The reflective sheet 150′ can further partially extend to theupper side of the escape opening 142 along the light-shielding sheet130. Therefore, the reflective sheet 150′ in this embodiment can stillprevent the light emitted by the light-emitting component 190 fromleaking out of the escape opening 142. In some embodiments, thelocations of the escape opening 142, the reflective sheet opening 152,the light-shielding opening 132, the protruding portion 124 of the baseplate 120″, and the functional layer opening 1141 may be staggered fromthe locations of the key cap 112, the lifting mechanism 116, and therestoring component 118. In the present embodiment, the central axis ofthe escape opening 142 does not overlap with the central axis of the keycap 112 from a top view.

In sum, in the embodiments of the disclosure, the light guide plate ofthe backlight module has an escape opening, and the reflective sheetextends upward from the rear surface of the light guide plate into theescape opening. With such configuration, at least a part of theelectronic component can be embedded in the escape opening of the lightguide plate, so that the thickness of the luminous keyboard using suchbacklight module can be effectively reduced. In addition, in theembodiments of the disclosure, the reflective sheet extends upward fromthe rear surface of the light guide plate to cover the inner wall of theescape opening, thus effectively preventing the light emitted by thelight-emitting component from leaking out of the escape opening.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that variousmodifications and variations can be made to the structure of the presentdisclosure without departing from the scope or spirit of the disclosure.In view of the foregoing, it is intended that the present disclosurecover modifications and variations of this disclosure provided they fallwithin the scope of the following claims and their equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A backlight module, comprising: a circuit layer;a light guide plate disposed on the the circuit layer, wherein the lightguide plate comprises an escape opening and a light-source opening; alight-emitting component connected to the circuit layer at a positioncorresponding to the light-source opening; an electronic componentconnected to the circuit layer at a position corresponding to the escapeopening, wherein the electronic component is different from thelight-emitting component; a reflective layer with a first side and anopposite second side disposed between the light guide plate and thecircuit layer, wherein the reflective layer comprises a reflective layeropening corresponding to the escape opening and exposing a surface ofthe electronic component, and the first side faces the light guideplate; and an identifier disposed on the second side of the reflectivelayer.
 2. The backlight module according to claim 1, wherein a height ofthe electronic component is different from a height of thelight-emitting component.
 3. The backlight module according to claim 1,wherein the identifier is disposed on an outermost surface of thebacklight module.
 4. The backlight module according to claim 1, furthercomprising a light-shielding layer disposed on the light guide plate,wherein a portion of the light-shielding layer is attached to thereflective layer.
 5. The backlight module according to claim 4, whereinthe light-shielding layer has a light-shielding pattern to selectivelyallow light to pass through.
 6. The backlight module according to claim4, wherein the light-shielding layer covers a portion of the electroniccomponent exposed by the reflective layer.
 7. The backlight moduleaccording to claim 1, wherein the circuit layer comprises a bondingportion corresponding to the light guide plate and a component portioncorresponding to the escape opening, and the component portion coupledto the electronic component is coplanar with the bonding portion.
 8. Akeyboard, comprising: a circuit layer; a light guide plate disposed onthe the circuit layer, wherein the light guide plate comprises an escapeopening and a light-source opening; an electronic component disposed onthe circuit layer, and at least a part of the electronic component beinglocated in the escape opening; a reflective layer disposed between thecircuit layer and the light guide plate, wherein the reflective layercomprises a reflective layer opening corresponding to the escapeopening; a light-emitting component disposed in the light-sourceopening; a light-shielding layer disposed on the light guide plate; abase plate disposed on the light guide plate, wherein the base plate andthe circuit layer are disposed on two opposite sides of the light guideplate; and a plurality of keycaps disposed on the base plate, wherein aportion of the light-shielding layer is attached to the reflective layercorresponding to a position between two adjacent keycaps.
 9. Thekeyboard according to claim 8, wherein the reflective layer extendsupward into the escape opening and has at least a portion covering asurface of the electronic component.
 10. The keyboard according to claim8, wherein the light-shielding layer covers the electronic component.11. The keyboard according to claim 8, wherein the light-shielding layercomprises a light transmissive film and a pattern on a portion of thefilm.
 12. The keyboard according to claim 8, wherein the base platecomprises a base plate opening or a protruding portion extending towardsthe keycap corresponding to the electronic component.
 13. The keyboardaccording to claim 8, wherein a surface of the electronic component isexposed by the reflective layer opening.
 14. The keyboard according toclaim 8, further comprising an identifier disposed on a side of thereflective layer opposite to the light guide plate.
 15. The keyboardaccording to claim 8, further comprising an identifier disposed on abottom surface of the base plate adjacent to the light-shielding sheet.16. A keyboard, comprising: a key switch structure; a light guide platebeing disposed under the key switch structure and comprising an escapeopening; a circuit layer disposed under the light guide plate; anelectronic component coupled to the circuit layer, and at least a partof the electronic component being located in the escape opening; alight-emitting component coupled to the circuit layer and disposedcorresponding to the light guide plate; a light-shielding layer disposedbetween the key switch structure and the light guide plate, wherein thelight-shielding layer covers a portion of the electronic component; anda reflective layer disposed between the light guide plate and thecircuit layer.
 17. The keyboard according to claim 16, wherein thereflective layer comprises a reflective layer opening corresponding tothe escape opening.
 18. The keyboard according to claim 16, furthercomprising an adhesive layer disposed on the circuit board and notarranged at a position corresponding to the light-emitting component.19. The keyboard according to claim 16, further comprising an identifierdisposed on a side of the reflective layer opposite to the light guideplate.
 20. The keyboard according to claim 16, wherein the key switchstructure comprises: a base plate, wherein the base plate comprises abase plate opening corresponding to the electronic component; a keycapdisposed on the base plate; and a restoring component between the baseplate and the keycap.